Concrete-form



Nov'.-22, 1927. SM'TH Re. 16,793

CONCRETE FORM TIE AND SPACER Original Filed April 4. 192K? 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 22,. 1927.

D. B. SMITH CONCRETE FORM TIE AND SPACER Original Filed April 1925- 2 Sh t -sheet, 2

Renaud Nov. 22, 1921.,

UNlTED STATES Re. 16,793 PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID BAKER SMITH, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

CONCRETE-FORM TIE AND SPACER.

forms of he, or tie and spacer, that are simple in structure. economical to manufacture and that present the least possible obstruction when in place in the concrete form.

Although the invention in the specific designs shown and described hereinafter has been applied particularly to the holding of forms for poured concrete, and although it will be understood that the invention is not limited to such use, yet the invention itself will be best understood from a detailed explanation of "arious forms ofdevices applied to such particular use. Furthermore in the erection and use of concrete for-ms, although such forms are not always made'of wood, nor are they always made of planks or boards laid in edge to edge abutment, yet the invention may be most readily understood by considering its use as applied to that kind of form. Form elements may, of

course, be made in various sizes and shapes g the concrete were poured continuously into" and of any suitable material; but for the sake of simplicity I may state atthe outset that. wherein I refer to form boards I do not thereby mean to limit my invention in its applicability to forms that are constructed of wood.

The devices hereinafter explained in detail are used much in the same manner as those described in issued United States Letters Patent to Henry A. Orlopp and-applicant, No. 1,491,413, dated April 22, 1924, and No. 1,468,780, dated September 25, 1923,

and in the United States Letters Patent issued to Giles, No. 1,524,926, dated'Februmy 3, 1925. Such devices as set out in those patents have given eminent satisfaction in actual use, but are open to come objectionsin the fornrand, to a slight degree, hinder.

.free pouring or puddling of the concrete. Also there has been the objection that unless an assembled form the concrete from a;

Original No. 1,564,982, dated December 8, 1925, Serial No. 20,757, filed April 4, 1925. Application for reissue filed December 27, 1926. Serial No. 157,403.

previous pouring would stand on top those ties that were above the pouring level and, standing sometimes over night, that concrete would become set or partially set before the concrete level had been poured around them. The present invention overcomes all these dilficulties and provides a tie, ortie and spacer device, that is very economical to manufacture, light in weight and at the same time capable of taking all stresses that may be imposed upon it.

In speaking of the present invention I may particularly call attention to the fact that the devices may either be merely a tie between opposite walls of concrete form, orthey may function. both as tie and spacer. The device as hereinafter described c0mprises a single rod that extends across the form, the rod carrying looped heads to engage the form boards. In a great many cases this rod may function only as --a tie rod, and I therefore refer to it as a tension member or tension rod; but at the same time it is in practice made heavy enough and stiff enough to take the compression necessary tohold the form boards apart if there is any devices explained in detail in the following specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, embody a single tension rod extending across the form and a. board engaging head formation that may or may not be in a loop formation, but characteristically involve only a single member or part that passes between adjacent edges-of abutting iorm boards.

.This application is companion to m application filed on even date herewith, No. 20,756 which has become Pat. No.' 1,564,981 and in said-companion application, as compared with'thjs one, the char acteristic feature isthe use of a. board engaging head structure that involves a loop or looped formation, or that has two or more spaced parts assing between adjacent edges erial of abutting orm boards. The latter men- :ifioned characteristic forms, in comparison with the present application, a distinct line of cleavage between the two applications;

\ and as to the looped formation the broader claims as between the two applications are contained in said companion application.

For the purpose of making the present invention fully clear to those skilled in this art, I have illustrated in the accompanying drawings various typical and specific formsembodying the invention:

Fig. 2 illustrates a slightly modified board engaging head formation;

Fig. 3 illustrates a somewhatmodified form;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal elevation with parts in section showing the form shown in Fig. 3;.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation illustrating for instance the application of the form of Fig.

further 1 to a form board;

6 shows a further modified head formatlong Figs. 7, 8 and 9 show further modifications of the head formation;

Fig. 10 shows another typical head formation, and

Fig. 11 is a view showing a head formation similar to that shown in Fig. 6 but showing how the tension rod may be extended on beyond the head for certain purposes.

Referring first to the form shown in Fig.

1, there is shown at 20 a tension rod having at each end a board engaging head forma t on that may be described as being substantlally H shaped, with two upright members 21 and 22 that cross rod 20 rlght angles and joined by a flattened end part or extension of rod 20 as shown at 23. The distance between uprights 21' and 22 may be substantially that necessary to take between them the edges of form boards; but 1n practice is preferably somewhat greater than the thickness of a form board so that when the device is applied to a form board 24 the edge of the board will lie in a relative position as'shown in Fig. 5. a

Fig. 5 illustrates one end of the tie device applied over the upper edge of a form board. At the upper and lower ends of outer uprights 21 there are board piercing projec tions 25 the lower one of which the one that is lowermost will, of course, depend upon the position of the device) may be forced or as for a device to be used as a tie only;

substantially at hammered into the form board as illustrated in Fig. 5. This prong. keeps the device supported horizontally as shown in Fig. 5 when it is applied over the upper edge of a form board at one side or a concrete iorm bclng position while that next upper board is ap-f plied. lVhen the next upper board is applied the flattened part 23 of the device, as

will be readily understood, then lies between adjacent longitudinal edges of the two abutting boards, and the free outer or unsupported ends of the device may easily be sprung up or down to allow proper placement of the boards forming the other side of the form. lVhen all the boards are in place it will beseen that the tension rods 20 extend across the interior of the assembled form, that inner uprights 22 prevent the boards falling inwardly and that outer uprights 21 prevent the boards spreading apart. As shown in Fig. 5 inner uprights 22 are spaced inwardly a little distance from the inner surface of the form boards, so that when the concrete is finally poured and the forms removed, then these inner uprights 22 are covered by the finished concrete. In order to remove the form boards it is only necessary to break or shear off the head struc ture at the point designated 26 in Fig. 5, that being the point of inception of flat 23 and being the point where a pulling action, probably combined with a twisting or bending action, is most likely to break off the head structure.

Flats'23 are so formed as to provide parts that bite or sink into the edges of the form boards.

and thinnest, while its end parts are narrowest and thickest; furthermore it will be noted that the ends of the flats do not extend quite to oints flushewith the inner face of the uprig ts 21 and 22, but that the parts 27 ad- It will be noticed that the rod is so' flattened at 23.that its central part is widestisu 23; and that dimension is governed by the permissible openin between adjacentedges of form boards. w ich will not allow the poured concrete to run out. As a general rule if a tension rod of circular formation' is used, its diameter mustbe somewhat larger than the permissible width of opene ing between adjacent boards; and for that reason it is desirable to flatten the end parts or portions of the rod that pass between ad- Jacent boards. And it is also desirable in order to assist in keeping the device in proper position on the boards or between the boardsto assist in preventing the device being displaced from proper position by rotation or twisting about rod 20 as an axis. The board engaging prongs also act in the same capacity in addition to their functions of supporting the device as they are being applied to the form boards and preventing the device from being displaced longitudinally along the edges of the form boards.

In Fig. 2 there is illustrated a form similar to that shown in Fig. 1, but wherein the tension rod 20 is flat throughout in cross section, the outer upright head member 21 joining the end of this rod 20 in much the same fashion as explained in connection with Fig. 1, and the inner upright member 22 passing through the flat rod 20*.

In Figs. 3 and 4 the inner and outer upright board engaging members 21 and 22 are shown as more or less circular or oval in 1 -members joined to' the longitudinal tension rod as by welding or the like. In Figs. 6 to 9 I have shown forms of device in which the'inner and outer members of the board engaging head formation are formed of the same piece of wire or rod that forms the tension rod 20. In this particular instance, the inner and outer member formations may be regarded as loop formations, some of the loops being shown as closed and others open. For instance in Fig. 8 the rod or wire that forms tension rod 20 is shown bending at and passing up and into the upper part 31 of aloop formation that may be described generally as being 8vshaped, and then pass' down into the lower part 32 of that 8-shap dd 'loop' formation and thence upwardly and,

with a bend 33 around the bend-30, into the flattened part 23 that extends across between adjacent edges of abutting form boards, and

thence the rod or wire passes through the space between bend'30 into the upper part 31' of another 8-shaped formation, and thence down into and through the lower part 32* of that for v mation and thence upwardly to end at 34,

where it may be welded to the other parts. Here the inner and outer upright board engaging :members of the head are formed in open loop formation and the whole device is formed of a single length of wire or rod. The upper parts 31 and 31 of the head formation are adapted to engage the inner and outer surfaces. respectively, of an upper board while the lower parts 32 and 32 of the formation areadapted to engage the inner and outer surfaces, respectively, of a lower board, between which two boards the flat part 23 lies. This flattened part 23 is similar in formatiomstructure and function to the flattened part 23 before described. Here, as in the form previously described, the board piercing project-ions or prong 25 perform the same functions as before stated. Instead of loops in "an S-shaped formation. Imay use loops of generally circular or elliptic or spiral formation. as is indicated in- Fig. 9. Here the wire or rod that forms tension rod 20 takes a bend at 40 out wardly and into a plane that lies atright angles to rod 20 and thence upwardly and around to form the upper part 41, and then downwardly and around to form the lower part 42, going back to another bend at 43 around the bend 40 and thence across and through the flattened formation 23 and thence through a bend at 40, upper part 41 and lower part 42 to form an outer board engaging member, the final end of the wire rod being the same as in the form of Fig. 9 and being denoted by the same numerals.

In the form of Fi 6, however, it will be noted that the finaf structure, so far as appearance and general exterior form are concerned, is very similar to that shown in Fig. 1, excepting that both outer and inner uprights 21" or 22', are formed of two thicknesses or lengths of the same wire or rod of which. the whole device is formed." The formation of Fig. 6 achieves substantially the same final functional characteristics as the form shown in Fig. 1, and also the same general external formation as inrFig. 1, with the structural difference that the form of Fig.6 is made from a single piece of wire or rod.

Fig

7 shows the form that is substantial-- ly the form that is shown in Fig. 6, except ies ' doubled.that is, may constitute two lengths of the rod or wire of which the device is made. The structure will be apparent from Fig. 10, the looped head being made generally in the shape of an 8 with upper part 31 and lower part 32" adapted to engage the outer side surface of the upper and lower boards, respectively, the two parts being provided with prongs 25. H e

In any of the forms hereinbefore described the tension rod may be extended onoutside the head formation for the purpose of securing the rod to a. stud or other structural member of the form. The forms usually have vertical studs that bear inwardlyagainst the boards of the outer wall of the form. In such a case, where the extending end of the tie rod is fastened to such a stud, the boards may be pushed in so that they bear against uprights 22, 22 or 22 or the head formation. As an instance of such modification of the structure, 1 show in Fig. 11 the same form that is shown in Fig. 6, except that the wire or rod of which the device is formed takes a bend at A3 through the loop formation of the outer upright member 21* and extends on out, and preferably flattened as indicated at 50, and

may have nail holes as at 51 so that the extension may be wrapped or hooked around a stud or other structural member or may be nailed to it.

I claim:

1. A device of the character described,

comprising a tension rod adapted to extend across a concrete form and'having at its end a flat part adapted to pass between adjacent edges of abutting form boards, a board engaging head formation extending on opposite sides of the plane of said flat, and means at the ends of said head formation adapted to pierce and engage a form board to pre vent displacement of the device, as described.

2. A device of the character described, comprising a tension rod adapted'to extend across a concrete form and having at its end a flat part adapted to pass between adjacent edges of abutting form boards, a board e11- gaging head formation embodying two spaced members in planes at right angles to the rod and extending on opposite sides of the plane of said flat, and means at the ends of said head formation adapted to pierce and engage a form board to prevent displacement of the device, as described.

3. A device of the character described, comprising a tension rod adapted to extend across a concrete form and having at its end a flat part adapted to pass between adjacent I edges of abutting form boards, aboard engaging head formation embodying two mem-- bers in planes at right angles to the rod, sald members being located on the rod at the opposite ends of its flat portion. and extending each on opposite sides of the plane of said flat to engage the inner and outer surfaces of abutting formboards, and the outer one of said members having at its end board piercing projections to prevent displacement of the device, as described.

4. A device of the character described,

comprising a tension rod adapted to extend across a concrete form and having atits end a flat part adapted to pass between adjacent edges of abutting form boards, board engaging head formation extending on opposite sides of the plane of said flat, and means at the ends of said head formation adapted to pierce and engage a form board to prevent displacement of the device, as described, said head formation being formed in a single length of metal with the tension rod. 5. A device of the character described, comprising a tension rod adapted to extend across a concrete form and having at its end a flat part adapted to pass between adjacent edges of abutting form boards, a board engaging headformation embodying two members in planes at right angles to the rod, said members being located on the rod at the opposite ends of its flat portion, and extending each on opposite sides of the plane of said flat to engage the inner and outer surfaces of abutting form boards, and the outer one of said members having at its end board piercing projections to prevent displacement of the device, as described, said two spaced head-members being formed with the tension rod from a single length of metal.

6. A device of the character described, comprising a tension rod adapted to extend across a concrete form and having at its end a fiat part adapted to pass bet-ween adjacent edges of abutting form boards, a board engaging head formation extending on opposite sides of the plane of said flat, and means at the ends of said head formation adapted to pierce and engage a form board to prevent displacement of the device, as described, said head formation beingrformed as loops together with the tension rod from a single length of metal.

7 A device of the character described comprising a tension rod adapted to extend across a concrete form and having at its end a fiat part adapted to pass between adjacent edges of abutting form boards, aboard engaging head formation embodying two members in planes at right angles to the rod, said members being located on the rod at the opposite ends of its fiat portion, and extendin each on opposite sidesof the plane of sai flat to engage-the inner and outer surfaces of abutting form boards, and the outer one of said members having at its end board pierc ing projections to prevent displacement of the device as described, said two spaced head members being formed as loops together with the tension rod from a single length of metal. i

' 8. A device of the character described,

comprising a tension rod adapted to extend across a concrete form and having near its end a flattened part, thinner and wider than the body of the rod, and adapted to nass between adjacent edges of abutting form boards, the cross-sectional area of the flattened part being substantially the same as that of the rod, and a board engaging head formation embodying two members in lanes at right angles to the rod, saidcmemers being located on the rod at the opposite ends of its said flattened portion, said members being each integrally continuous from end to end and extending each on opposite sides of the plane of said flattened portion to engage the inner and outer surfaces of abutting form boards, and each of said members being at least of the full thickness of said tension rod.

9. A device of the character described, comprising a tension rod adapted to extend across a' concrete form and having near its end a flattened part, thinner and wider than the body'of the rod, and adapted to pass between adjacent edges of abutting form boards, the cross-sectional area of the flattenedpart being substantially the same as that of the rod, and a board engaging head formation embodying two members in lanes at right angles to the rod, said memers being located on the rod at the opposite ends of its said flattened portion, said members being each integrally continuous from end to end, and inte ral at their centers with said tension ro and extending each on opposite sides of the plane of said flattened portion tov engage the inner and outer surfaces of abutting form boards, and each of said members being of substantially the same thicknesses the tension rod.

10. A device of the character described, comprising a tension rod adapted to extend across a concrete form and having near its end a flattened part, thinner and wider than the body of the rod, and adapted to pass between adjacent edges of abutting form boards, the cross-sectional area of the flattened part being substantially the same as that of the rod and a board engaging head formation embodying two members in planes at right angles to the rod, said memers being located on the rod at the opposite en'ds'of its said flattened portion, said members being each integrally continuous and substantially straight from end to end and extending each on opposite sides of the plane tially the same thickness as the tension rod. J

11. A unitary form tie and spacer, comprising a rod adapted to extend across a concrete form and having near its end a thin flattened part adapted to pass between adjacent ed es of abutting form boards, said flattene part being substantially thinner and wider than remainder of the rod, the cross-sectional area of the flattened part being substantially the same as that of the rod, and comprising a board engaging head formation embodying two members in planes atright angles to the rod located near the opposite ends of the flattened portion and integrally joining with the unflattened part of the rod.

12. A unitary form tie and spacer, comprising a rod adapted to extend across a concrete form and having near its end an integral board engaging head formation comprising a thin flattened portion of the rod adapted to pass between adjacent'edigles of abutting form boards, and board con ing shoulder members near the opposite ends of the flattened part, and joining with the unflattened part of the rod.

13. A unitary form tie and spacer, comprising a tension rod adapted to extend across aconcrete form and having near its end a flattened part thinner and wider than the body of the rod and of substantially the same cross-sectional-area as the body of the rod, the flattened part ending at a point near but somewhat inside the end of the rod so that the extreme end portion of the rod is left unflattened, anda board engaging head comprising a continuous rod member integrall joined near its center to the unflattenet? end part of the tension rod; and lying at substantially a right angleto the tension rod. I

14. A unitary form tie and spacer, comprising a round tension rod adapted to extend across a concrete form and having near its end a flattened part thinner and wider than the body of the rod and of substantiall the same cross-sectional area as the body of the rod, the flattened part ending ata point near but somewhat inside the end of the rod so that the extreme end por- 

